Implementing the CCDBG Act of 2014

Survive and Thrive State Leadership Day

August 8, 2017

Will Life Ever Get Back to Normal?

• No, because Normal is a setting on your dishwasher.

A Rocky Start

• Test rockets exploded on a regular basis during the 1940s and 1950s. Apollo I suffered an electrical fire just 18 months before Apollo XI landed on the moon.

A Rocky Start

• Back in 1966, as Medicare was just about to launch, nobody knew whether the new program would provide benefits to millions or fail completely. Sound familiar?

A Rocky Start

• Head Start was launched with much fanfare by Lady Bird Johnson. Measuring the program's success was not a simple matter, however. Many questioned whether Head Start would save taxpayers' money, because they didn’t trust a program whose ‘payoff’ was 15 years away.

During the Development of All Enormous National Initiatives…

• Lots of people:

–Are confused

–Are anxious

–Are dubious

–Are certain this will fail

–Believe we’re doing the right thing

• All of US bounce back and forth among all of the above.

We’re Still in the Middle of the Implementation Changes

• We’re asking questions: – What will work?

– What can we afford?

• We’re making decisions: – It’s the least damaging of our choices.

– It has the best possibility of success.

• We’re launching changes: – And explaining them to the State Legislature and

Administration.

– And explaining them to the families and providers.

It’s an Iterative Process • Iterative means you’re moving forward, but

slowly and with care, by checking back on the lessons learned and making adjustments as you go.

• The good news is that when you say “iterative process, ” people think you know what you’re doing.

How to Survive an Iterative Process

• There are a million ways to do it.

• All I can do is tell you how I’ve survived leading all-encompassing, change everything initiatives.

• And I really hope it helps.

How to Survive an Iterative Process

• I recommend chocolate. Lots of it! (When I led the redesign of the whole subsidy system I spent $70 per month on chocolate… and I actually shared some of it at meetings.)

• P.S. Fiscal people like it, too.

How to Survive an Iterative Process

• Circle the wagons and make the circle as big as possible. Gather your partners, stakeholders and decision makers – If you want their buy-in, have them at the table or give them regular updates.

How to Survive an Iterative Process

• Take the vote – Nothing slows the process down like 15 people all saying the same thing and not realizing they’ve reached agreement.

How to Survive an Iterative Process

• Have Fun – which is the last thing you’re thinking about when in the weeds of the process – but that’s when you need it most. Have a “wear your ugliest shirt meeting” or “show your funniest baby picture meeting.”

• Celebrate successes – Applause, bells, kazoos, or high fives make everyone smile, clear their head and be ready for the next step.

How to Survive an Iterative Process

• Believe, believe, believe! Dredge up every inspirational poster and come-from-behind-to-be-the-hero movie you can find.

• Believe in fairies and clap your hands. (Okay, I saw Peter Pan like a hundred times as a kid… well, when my kids were young… well, maybe it was last week.)

When is “It” Over?

• It’s never really over – wait – honestly, that’s a good thing.

• We are always striving to improve (of course it’s easier when it’s one thing at a time).

• We are always working to reach a goal, to get there.

• But there isn’t really a there to get to.

It’s Never Over

• Yes, we are always learning from something that shows us that there is more to do, such as: – A new research report that guides us to improve our

professional development system;

– A change in our subsidy administrative data that indicates the need to change a policy; and/or

– An avalanche of funding from a foundation.

It’s Never Over

• So, you see an iterative process is like a ball rolling toward you. You see one part of it and then it disappears as it goes down and out and over and back. And each time, you can see something a little different.

But, it Does Get Better

• Think of each facet of CCDF as a snow flake. It’s a crystal that starts out fairly simple, but it grows in complexity, value, and beauty.

• Its power grows as snow flakes find and stick to each other

And Better and Better

• They grow more powerful as contributions from everywhere else attach and stick together.

• What is everywhere else? – Your providers and families

– Your Legislature and Administration

– The other programs serving your families, such as: • TANF

• SNAP

• Medicaid

• WIC

And Better Still

• And who brings all of this together?

YOU!

How do you Survive and Thrive?

• Own your power!

• Believe in your strength!

• Know that you will triumph!

• CCDF is YOUR program and decisions are made at YOUR table!

Let It Go!

• It's funny how some distance makes everything seem small and the fears that once controlled me can't get to me at all.

• It's time to see what I can do, to test the limits and break through. No right, no wrong, no rules for me, I'm free!

• Let it go, let it go, I am one with the wind and sky. Let it go, let it go, you'll never see me cry.

• Here I stand and here I'll stay. Let the storm rage on!

Let It Go!

• My power flurries through the air into the ground. My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around and one thought crystallizes like an icy blast. I'm never going back, the past is in the past.

• Let it go, let it go, and I'll rise like the break of dawn. Let it go, let it go, that perfect girl is gone. Here I stand in the light of day.

• Let the storm rage on!

• The cold never bothered me anyway!